Last Act Of Irony From A Strangers' Ghost
by Maniacs Edge
Summary: [Dark City] A year after Murdoch saves the city a very confused girl steps into Dr. Schreber's office saying that she can't remember anything past 15 aside from a flash of light and his face. Knowing whats happened, he slowly starts to try and help her.
1. Last Act Of Irony From A Strangers Ghost

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing to do with Dark City, aside from the home video. I don't own the city, I don't own Schreber (If I did I wouldn't be WRITING about him now would I?) and I don't own anything else that'll get my behind thrown in jail.  
  
Author's Note: YEAH YEAH! ANOTHER MARY SUE! KILL ME! For God's sakes, the stuff I write about leaves little room for anything BUT! And This ones unlike most Mary's, although you may not know it at first. JUST READ THE DARN FIC!! :-)  
  
ENJOY!!  
  
The sun was setting. Dr. Daniel Paul Schreber, Psychiatrist, looked longingly out the window. It had been a year since he had first seen the sun...For the second time. The first time was forever a mystery to him. Most of everything was a mystery to him.  
  
He winched at his 'first' memory, waking up on the cold, dark, black-blue floor, pain in his back, leg, eye. The last of which bled heavily, turning half his vision into a blurred reality of red. Slowly the memories he had imprinted his self with had began to fade into his head, earning a sob of defeat.  
  
"Enough" Schreber hissed to himself, shaking his head as best he could without causing pain. Sighing he slowly looked about his large, empty office. In front of him laid a report he was doing on one of his so precious few patients. What irony, this particular patients was a murder. Sadly, unlike Murdoch, this one was truly guilty. Was it a last twist of nonexistent irony on The Strangers' ghost? He didn't know although he wondered so often.  
  
Winching he raised himself gently from his seat and limped over to the window of which he had been gazing out. A soft breeze blew through the open portal, ruffling his short corn-blond hair, gracing the soft skin of his face. That same breeze so long ago had caused him to shiver, had reminded him of The Strangers' breath so constantly down his neck. Now it was almost like the caress of a lover...Although, what would he know of lovers?  
  
A soft knock on the door. Schreber gave a small jerk as he was so quickly brought back to reality.  
  
"Come - in" He called in the direction of the door, limping over to his desk and leaning against it, arms crossed over his still-aching chest. He watched, somewhat wide-eyed as the familiar body of a young, strong faced girl walked through the door, clad in jeans and a black T-shirt, fiddling with a second, beautifully decorated belt that buckled with the first one that went around her waist, curled around her backside and attached to her jeans, regarding him with wide eyes. Her face was somewhat the same, young and yet the same time old, her hair silver gray. It had been that way when he had first imprinted her. She must have had a rough life before the Strangers had took her that had resulted in her hair graying at such a young age, her young face now ever slightly so hard. And yet, there was a new emotion on her face. Something between confusion, pain and anger, perhaps a mixture of all of them.....Had she been one of the ones to wake up? He had forgotten, it had been so long ago but he could have swore something along those lines made her different. And he had seen the eyes of those who had woke up before. Although very dim, mocking even, he could see something like that in her eyes.  
  
"May I - help you, young - lady?" He asked, assuming his usual, ever professional tone. The girl's green eyes flashed ever so slightly, a emotion he knew very well overriding the unnamed one at the present: She didn't know where to begin.  
  
"Um...Dr Schreber?" She asked, her voice shy, pronouncing his name "Schreaber". Schreber couldn't help but grin, she had not been the first to mispronounce it, although that was the more pleasant of the 3.  
  
"Schreber" he corrected gently, "Is there something - I can - help you with?". They was back at point one again, ah, how he loved being a Psychiatrist.  
  
"Um...I don't know how to start" She said, her voice so gentle for her face. She looked from one end of the office then the other, looking as though she wished that she would find the answer standing out like a painting on the wall...However, there was no paintings. Just the bare, newly painted olive green walls and dark brown wood trimming. It suited his life really, Schreber thought. Lonely and bare and repainted.  
  
"I...Well..." She dug into her left hand pocket as she walked towards him on somewhat short legs and brought out a crumpled card and handed it to him. Schreber grained inside. It was his very own card, Daniel P. Schreber, PH.  
  
"That, believe it or not, landed on my head a few days ago" She said. Schreber looked at her with a upraised eyebrow.  
  
"And - you thought that perhaps - you'd come see who - This Dr. Daniel P. Schreber - is?" He asked. She shook her head of silver hair, pail green (scared?) eyes looking anywhere but directly into his eyes.  
  
"No....I don't know where to begin, but...I think I may need your help" She said, voice emphasizing the 'Your'. Schreber nodded, smiling his 'Psychiatrist' smile as some had called it and motioned to a chair in front of his desk.  
  
"Please - have a seat" He said, pushing himself from the leaning position he had maintained and walked around his desk and sat in his own chair. She regarded the chair, uncertain and then sat, seeming very uncomfortable and shy.  
  
"Now - I have all - night so please, start - wherever your mind - lands" He said gently. Silence passed after a small nod from her and he sat, smile still on his face, fingers laced in his lap.  
  
"This is going to sound crazy" She finally said. Schreber laughed, a sound that he was sure once charmed people. Now it sounded empty, phoney, a echo of what used to be to his own ears. Had it always sounded like that? Oh he had lost so much....So many people had due to him, even his own self.  
  
"Listening - that what appears - to be insane ramblings is my - profession, Miss" He said. She giggled shyly and stopped very suddenly, her face winching in pain. Schreber tried to hide the empathy he felt for her. He had imprinted her so many times, all her chosen fates being hard, each earning her a scar, a wound, a injury that would never leave her. In ways, she was something like him.  
  
"OK then" She said, giving a unsure turn of the head and fixed her eyes on the wall just above his head.  
  
"my name is Trinity Butler, I'm currently unemployed, I grew up on Shell Beach, lost my family to a sickness and became a Orphan. At the age of 13 I ran away and began a life on my own, doing just about anything I could to put cloths on my back, food in my mouth" As she spoke, she waved her hands about, emphasizing her points, a attribute she had had before her first imprint, and would for the rest of her years, "At 14 I joined a resistance group, I killed my first a month after that and suffered tremendous feelings of guilt but grew out of it within a few weeks.....I can remember all this in very great detail Dr....Schreber" She said, pausing to make sure she got his name right, still avoiding his eyes, "I remember the smell of the sea, the feel of the wind, the sound of the gun...Yet....At 15 everything goes blank and my age eludes me. It's not amnesia" She said, raising her voice as Schreber started to speak, "It's not, I've looked into it so deeply it's painful. True, my symptoms are very much like amnesia but thats not it I feel......Anyway, thats not what matters. What matters is...Through the long - for lack of a better word, blank streak, theres suddenly a very bright flash of light and a outline of a face. At first, this confused me, as everything else does, and I regarded it as another strange dream....But, more and more it'd flash in my mind till I finally began thinking about it....Sunday I drove myself insane thinking about it to the point that I split into a long string of curses, amongst them was "Send me a reason why I keep thinking about this" and..Well...Your card landed on my head. Usually, I'd laugh at something so ironic but...It's been nagging at me. I understand if you think I'm crazy, I'm starting to think I'm loosing my mind" She finished, trying to add humor to her voice but failing. Her hands fell inactive in her lap, her head turned to the side, her hair catching between the chair and her shoulder, pulling away from her cheek to expose a very long gash that started from her hairline, curled around and went into her ear then down to her jawbone. It had never has stitches, like so many of Schreber, and left a very wide scar.  
  
Schreber sat there, his hands still in his own lap, fingers laces, but his smile had faded. He remembered now (Oh what irony), she had woke up, jerking as one would from a nightmare. It had been a lot like Murdoch who would happen but a week after, only this time she had truly knocked the syringe out of his hand, unlike Murdoch whose unharnessed and at the time, unknown, Tuning had thrown it out of his hand. The bright light she had spoke of had been one of many lights of the subway where she had fell asleep. She had came there to pick up a shipment of cocaine, she was meant to leave on a job to assassinate the head of a large company. She had instead left very confused and frightened.  
  
He had never told The Strangers, he didn't want to suffer the punishment that would surely befall him if they had found out about his failure. As a result he was now being visited by her, the wind having carried her his very own card as though blaming him for this. As though saying "You break it you fix it". Perhaps THIS was the last act of irony of The Stranger's ghost.  
  
Trinity....He had chose that name for her, personally. It sounded so graceful and small yet beautiful. It had been his own irony that had chose such a name for someone with her fate. It sounded nothing like the woman who sat before him, scared and (he was sure) scar riddled.  
  
Trinity shifted with nervousness, the leather of the chair beneath her groaning, bringing him back to the present.  
  
"Is that - all you have - to tell me?" He asked. Trinity's jaw clinched, the effort making two small round shapes stand out at each side of her face. She took a breath to speak but only let it out and instead shook her head no.  
  
"Last night I dreamt it again....Do you know why I regarded you so oddly when I first came in, Doctor?" She asked, raising her head, finally locking eyes with him. This time fear was most definitely the overriding emotion in them. Schreber didn't know what to do, his mind had went numb with all of this. He shook his head and spoke a quiet "No", leaning back in his chair on impulse.  
  
"Because....I recognized you from the dream last time. It was very clear. The subway light and your face hanging over me. I don't know what to expect you to feel about this, I barely understand it myself. I've been outside your office door for the past hour wondering whether I should leave or not". Schreber's brow furrowed.  
  
"The past - hour?" He asked. She nodded, blushing.  
  
"I saw your face in the crowed. I -- followed you. I hadn't got a good look and at first I was questioning that maybe it wasn't you....It is though...". Schreber nodded and rose, limping to the window again, not noticing her empathetic winch when she noted how he walked, although she knew not why he had the limp. He placed his hands on the sill, looking out at the city Murdoch had so wonderfully re-made. From here he could even see the shoreline, water the 'killer' had made playing joyfully with the shore. He wondered what to tell her. If he explained what happened, the truth, she'd surely think -he- was the crazy one and God knows what she would do, wondering whether to believe him or not. Or.....Or he could lead her under a guise, slowly getting her used to the idea of what was the truth then finally tell her in whole, along with a explanation of why he had 'lied' to her. Yes, that seemed the most reasonable.  
  
"Well" He finally spoke, turning around to face her, "I think - I have - an idea of what it is you - suffer from. It is - indeed amnesia, Miss Butler. There - are many types. Yours, - from everything you - have described to me, - is indeed a rare one but - it is still amnesia. As for - seeing my face in a vision is - yes a dream. Perhaps you - have seen my face - in a crowed without actually - registering it in your - conscious yet your subconscious did, and you - simply dreamed it later on, misinterpreting - it as - a memory in your - search for - your memory" He gently explained, sitting on the desk in front of her.  
  
"Oh...Forgive me for bothering you, thank you" She quickly muttered and went to rise.  
  
"But!" Schreber added before she actually stood, "Perhaps - I can help you - with your memory. I have - had a patient who suffered - from memory - loss. Although it was a long - therapy, in the end he - regained his memory" He lied. God what was he getting himself and her into?.  
  
Trinity looked into his eyes again, hope sparking amongst the many emotions ("Oh her eyes are so like mirrors into her soul" Schreber thought) that pooled inside them.  
  
"Do you mean it?"A nod. She looked back down again and then around the office, almost like one whose looking into buying a house. Schreber couldn't help but feel guilty, he was misguiding this girl so badly, promising her something that would never come true, could never come true, only to in the end to tell her that she'd never know she who really was again. That she had had many lifetimes before this, none of the real, just as the one she remembered to little about was not real (That it was his fault). She was probably the most real she had been in - years? How long had they had them here?  
  
He was brought out of his thoughts again by her locking eyes with him, the faintest traces of a smile on her lips.  
  
"Thank you" She said, almost a...Sob?. Schreber nodded, taking a hand from her lap and placing it sandwiched in between his.  
  
'It's began then' He thought. 'A false promises built on vain hope.' 


	2. Whispers

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing to do with Dark City, aside from the home video. I don't own the city, I don't own Schreber (If I did I wouldn't be WRITING about him now would I?) and I don't own anything else that'll get my behind thrown in jail.   
  
Author's Note: This chapter sucks, sorry ^_^' Thanks to my LOOOOOOOOVELY reviewers, I didn't expect a single review until maybe a week after I posted it :D And thanks for the gammer correction, Grandfather taught me to do that ^_^' You guys rock!  
  
ENJOY!  
  
Slowly the rain ran fell into the cloudy streets, dripping off the red and white striped awning of the cafe, bouncing off the cars that drove down the street, spraying off the street as the tires ran through it.  
  
She sat, cross legged at a picturesque little cafe table under the awning, a cup of coffee in her hand, staring out into the falling rain. It looked so beautiful when it rained in the daytime here. The daylight was the perfect shade of gray and the smell was wonderful when mingled with the smells from the cafe. How long had she been coming here? A year or so. In other words: For as long as she could remember....That was pathetic. Just like her.  
  
Apparently the owner had made a deal with her some time before the time her memory started and she had earned all her coffee free, which was a good thing as she barely had any money at all.  
  
"Daniel" She whispered to herself for the 6th time in the past two hours, slowly pronouncing every sound in the name. Daniel Schreber....It was a nice name she thought. Belonging to a (As far as she could tell) Nice man. And a kind soul she could tell. Thoughtful, intelligent, calculative...Perhaps even a bit lonely?  
  
"Yeah, you'd know all about loneliness, Trinity" She sadly whispered to herself, her forefinger slowly tracing along the lip of her mug, looking down into the drink, almost white from all the creamer she put in it. She had only met one single person who had knew her in this city and he had tried to kill her, calling her a assassin. This confused her. How could she be a assassin? Yeah, a killer, but in her mind there was a difference. A killer faced their opponent, a Assassin hid in a high up place, way from any danger and plucked off their target without any challenge whatsoever. But...Who knows, maybe she had been....She couldn't remember. She didn't even know her age.  
  
It was a sad, confused, lonely job being Trinity Butler. Sometimes she wished she could just change it, return this life and get a new one like returning a defective piece of property.  
  
Sometimes she wished she could be changed.  
  
"Daniel" A moan she didn't even realize escaped her lips.  
  
  
  
"Trinity" Each of the three syllables slowly drew out, carefully pronounced, purred. How many times had that been now? 6? He lost count and anyway, what did it matter? No...That wasn't the correct question, the actual question is why was he musing over her name? Over iher/I? He had never done this before and he found it odd. For the love of God, he had only met her last night, what was the big deal?  
  
'Because she was kind to you. Because she didn't make fun of your stutter, because she didn't mock your limp, because she smiled at you ' His mind answered. It was true, even if he didn't like to admit it to even himself, of all the people he had imprinted, had changed over and over again, she had been one of very few who had been kind to him in the waking world. Her and Murdoch was it actually. Everyone else regarded him like a 'shrink' with a limp and speech impediment. Oh if only they knew. If only they knew the tortures that had put these curses on him, perhaps they'd understand then.  
  
His thoughts slowly drifted back to his little, gray lit office as he felt a soft scuttling feel at his ankle. He looked down to find a white rat pulling at his pants leg. A slow grin spread across his lips as he slowly bent down to pick up the little rodent.  
  
"Now how'd - you get - out?" He asked the little furry creature which he held in his hand as he rose slowly from his chair and walked to the cage he kept the ex-lab rat in. He had gotten rid of most of his experimental equipment and had considered giving his furry little friend away as well but...He couldn't. The little rat had been his first friend really. He couldn't part with him. Slowly he placed the rodent in his cage, and secured the lid back tight. How had he not heard the clatter of the screen lid against the carpeted floor?   
  
Never mind that question.  
  
Slowly he limped back to his desk and looked down at his report on another of his few patients and was surprised to see it was done. How had he--Never mind. He placed the report in a file folder and slipped it into a filing cabinet and closed the door. He glanced up at the clock. Noon. Three more hours and Trinity would be here and the scherade would continue. How long could he keep her guessing at this? How long would it take? How long would his conscious allow him to lie to her?  
  
"What does - it matter?" He asked himself aloud, looking out the window at the falling rain, inhaling the scent of it.  
  
'Everything' The same little voice in his head answered again. Yes....It was true. And wouldn't she become discouraged if nothing happened? What if less serum than he thought had made it's way to her? What if his plan failed? Well...What would another failure matter? He had failed many times before, although he hated to admit it.  
  
"Trinity"  
  
  
  
"Oh my God!" Trinity laughed as she walked through the raining streets. She laughed for what felt like the first time she had truly laughed sense she had been nine. Her sides ached with the effort and unseen tears due to the rain ran down her cheeks. She finally had to lean up against a brick wall to brace herself unless she fell over. She didn't pay attention to the people who passed her, regarding her like she was two cans short of a six pack.  
  
"With rings on her fingers, bells on her toes and a bone in her nose, ho-ho!" She sang again, bursting into a fresh fit of laughter at the lyrics. It was a Ray Stevens song, "Ahab the Arab" and she had first heard the song at 18! A memory had finally came back to her and it had made her laugh!  
  
With some effort she got herself under control and began walking down the street again, hands in her jeans pockets, soaking wet but happy. She was on her way to see Schreber, they had made a appointment for 3:00 today and she didn't want to be late. HA! What Irony! He had said he'd help her recover her memory and here she was, remembering something before their first try at it!  
  
After a few more minutes she reached the building and walked in, dripping wet. She walked up the stairs to get to his office then realized that perhaps dripping wet wasn't a good look for her. She stepped into a dark corner and slid off her shirt and rung it out and slid it back on, then rang out her hair a little....Well, there wasn't much she could do with hr jeans, she wasn't taking them off.  
  
As she began walking to the door with Schreber's name on the glass panel in black letters she thought on the lyrics again and, much to her embracement, began laughing again.  
  
  
  
2:49 Daniel Schreber noted, looking up from his book for a slight second at the clock that hung on the wall then back down to the page he was reading. It was one of the very few fiction books he had and every now and then he liked to read through it, it helped take the razor-sharp pain of reality away for a few hours. He was disturbed a few minutes latter by a bellowing fit of laughter outside his office door. He looked up, his right eyebrow raised in wonder as the laughter grew louder somewhat. It was a female laughing and he found the sound, even if misplaced here, very pleasing. It was real, heart filled and -- beautiful.  
  
Slowly a shadow appeared against the glass of his office door, paused, then the door opened onto a teary eyed, smiling, and LAUGHING Trinity Butler. Schreber blinked a few times, froze in his chair, book in hand, legs crossed, as she walked in and closed the door behind her. She was soaking wet, not dripping, but her cloths was plastered to her, her hair hung in limp locks about her face, and she was laughing as though she had lost her mind. She looked up, caught the look on his face and began laughing harder, placing one hand over her mouth, the other palm towards him in a "One second" motion. Slowly she gained control of herself and took a few breaths.  
  
"Sorry about that Doctor Schreber" She spoke finally, her voice still merry, "I remembered something on my way to your office and I've been laughing sense". Schreber smiled as he closed his book and placed it on the small table next to his chair.  
  
"I'm - glad to hear - that, Miss Butler. What - may I ask - did you remember?" He asked, placing his hands in his lap. If she had remembered that, then yes, she had more memories than just her teenage years. they would be scattered but it would make his job easier.  
  
"Lyrics!" She replied.  
  
"Lyrics?"  
  
"Yeah! From a song I heard when I was 18!".  
  
"This is - wonderful news - Miss Butler. Already - remembering something and - we haven't even - started yet" He smiled and she smiled back. He noticed that the tooth to the right of her canine was gold but besides that, it was a very lovely, lady-like smile. Outside the rain began to subside and Trinity broke eye contact with him to look out the window.  
  
"Oh sure, now you decide to stop" She spoke sarcastically to no one in particular, fiddling with her wet shirt.  
  
"Your - early" Schreber said, getting up from his chair and walking to a table with several flasks of different liquor. Trinity remained looking out the window.  
  
"A habit of Mine I suppose. I always feel the need to be early for some reason". Schreber nodded, walking to her hand holding her a glass of brandy.  
  
"You - seem cold. This - warms people up rather - nicely". Another beautiful smile as she took the glass from his hand and thanked him. She looked into the glass for a minute, sniffed then took a sip.  
  
"What is this?" She asked, making a smacking sound with her tongue against the roof of her mouth.  
  
"Brandy"  
  
"Hmm...I don't think I remember drinking anything Alcoholic...I may wanna start...With moderation of cores!" She added after seeing Schreber raise an eyebrow. Schreber nodded his head and they stood there in awkward (Or so it felt to him) silence for a minute or two, ever now and then Trinity sipping at the Brandy.  
  
"So" The gray haired girl finally spoke, looking in his direction but not locking eyes with him, "Where do we start? I've never done this kinda thing before, or can't you guess?". Schreber chuckled and looked out the window.  
  
"I - was thinking of - taking you to Shell - Beach as that is where you - grew up at as a - child. Usually memories - seem to come back when taken - to a childhood -home".  
  
"OK then" She said, looking back down into her drink. Schreber noted that most of the merriment that she had walked in here with was gone. Was it always like that with her? Was she always so brooding?  
  
"I don't have a car"  
  
"I - guessed that - when you came in - soaking wet" Schreber said, walking to his desk. Trinity nodded, looking out the window again as she heard the rattle of a key on a chain. Schreber regarded the key for a second, remembering the day Murdoch had handed it to him.  
  
"Schreber, you need a car. The city's grown and I worry about that limp of yours" Murdoch had told him, smiling, as he lead him to a black Ford. Indeed, it had came in handy and his leg had somewhat healed sense he stopped walking about the city so much.  
  
Trinity turned her head moreso towards the window, making the light play at her face in a odd way. For a few seconds, the gray hair suited her worn and sad face, another scar peaking out from the collar of her shirt. Schreber found himself wondering what age she was, really was, not just what he had imprinted her to be.  
  
"I think perhaps - you should - have a dryer - shirt. I have a - spare you can - barrow" He said at length, shaking himself from his thoughts. Trinity turned to face him, the youth coming back to her features as her pail green eyes grew slightly.  
  
"No, really, it's OK".  
  
"Nonsense. Perhaps you - don't remember - what it's like having - a cold but I - do" He said, walking to a closet and bringing out a white button-up shirt. Trinity offerd a shy grin as she took the shirt from Schreber's hands, running the cloth through her hands. It was soft as she was sure his skin was, as his smile was. She nodded and looked around for a place to change.  
  
"You can - change in the - bathroom if - you like" Schreber said, motioning to a door to the right of him. She nodded and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.  
  
Outside a distant sound of thunder carried to his ears. That sound brought back memories, dark ones. That had been the sound he had heard during his first punishment for failing to complete a task, for rebelling against them in his early days of being in their service...Being their slave. It had always seemed to thunder whenever they punished him, as though the weather was voicing it's opinion, that it was agreeing with The Strangers. Even the sound of the clock sounded thunder as it stopped time. A constant reminder of how much control they had over the city and everyone in it. Why had they picked where ever it had been to get their test subjects? That couldn't have been the only place they could have gotten beings with a soul...Although, he was sure that if it had been another place, one of those persons who would have been in his shoes would have asked the same question.  
  
He was brought out of his thoughts by the clicking of the door as Trinity closed it behind her. She had tied the shirt at her stomach, the outlines of a black bra showing through the fabric. She had also dried her hair somewhat. Schreber gave her a grin and walked to the door and opened. it.  
  
"Lets go find - your memory - then" He spoke.  
  
'Lets go find those lies I gave you with the lies I'm giving you' 


	3. Dreams And Unknown Feelings

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark City, I don't own Schreber *Sniffle*, I don't own Murdoch... I do own Trinity however :-D you can use her (Why I have no idea) But please email me or leave a review saying so so I can see how and what you do with her :-D  
  
To My WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, SPLINDERFUS Reviewers:  
  
Abra2: Thank you sososososo much for your kind words :-D I try to make all My Mary's unmarry like..Actually, I slightly base each of them off a different personality of Mine ^-^' heh. ANYHOW! Thank you sososo much :-D  
  
pirategurl85: Thank you soooo much :-D Sadly, I don't know how to go about separating the paragraphs correctly. I'm used to the way it is in books and whatnot so I'm used to that and I'm afraid I'd be a klutz at it the other way...Yeah, I suck, I know..Thanks though!  
  
Matrix Refugee: As to all of you, HANNAD! (It's Elvish for Thank you :-D). Yeah, it was the lack of Dark City fics that inspired me to write this...Plus a very unhealthy love for poor Dr. Schreber :-D ^_^ And they STOLE the tape? OMG!!! What idiot would do that? I got My copy brand new for 9 bucks, surely they coulda spared that! Have you tried looking for it at your library? Try going to the library's site, do a search for it. Usually Librarys carry movies like that :-D  
  
Lea of Mirkwood: Thank you sosososososo much. I'm amazed such a talented writer such as yourself would comment on something I write while listening to Evanescence :-) I emailed you twice in the past few days but you seem to be busy. I didn't wanna keep ya all waiting for the next update so I posted it..SORRY! Reply soon so you can beta the next chappie!  
  
A/N And Warnings: OK kids, theres just the ever SLIGHT hinting of Schreber getting wise with his right hand but thats all! Theres also a smallll bit of gore. Sorry that this chappie sucks, I couldn't seem to stop typing and it's also long. Long and suckie....For all the Murdoch fans in the house, HE MAKES A APPEARANCE! Break out the confetti! :-D ON TO THE FIC!  
  
ENJOY!  
  
Darkness.....A cold breeze blows his hair across his eyes as he limps down a dark alleyway. He has no idea where he is or why he's here, but he can feel a shiver of dread crawl slowly up his back.  
  
A whisper.  
  
Quickly as he can he turns around, his eyes small, searching for the voice that issued it. He finds nothing. Where is he? Why is this place so foreign yet so oddly familiar? Taking in a deep breath as though to gather his courage he begins down the alleyway again. On either side of him is a plane brick wall, the cold blue moonlight glowing off of the brick and the black asphalt street. Behind him he could see nothing but the ally stretching out, as the same in front of him. How had he got here?  
  
"Help me". Faint, oh so very faint but still hearable. The voice that issued the whispered plea was pathetic, weak, tortured...And female.  
  
"Whose - there?" He calls out into the silent night. Above him he sees nothing but the blue moon, mockingly smiling down upon him. Faintly he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise.  
  
"Daniel". Fainter than the last. Yet nowhere is there anyone to be seen. Schreber winches as he realizes theres only one who says his name so fully as that with so much passion.  
  
"Help...me"  
  
"Trinity?" He asks out into the night, the dangerous silence being his only reply. His hands clinch. He wasn't here alone. On he walks, his footfalls echoing off the close set walls, his breath turning into a cloud of steam in front of his face. Where is he?  
  
"Doctor", This voice was different and it made him jump as he recognized who it was, "Doctor, you have been very disobedient, yes". The strangers. How could this be? He watched as they had all died.  
  
"Punished you will be."  
  
"Leave--Leave me - alone!!!" He cries out, more courage in his voice than he had ever dared inject. Silence...Berating, but not his own.....  
  
"As you wish doctor" The voice replies, but Schreber winches again as he notices the sadistic undertone to it, "But someone must take your place, yes". A whip crack, a scream...A female scream. A scream so full of pain and anguish and despair it's enough to stop his already weak heart. It wouldn't die, even after the voice that issued it stopped. The walls kept echoing it, back and forth, over and over, always so loudly into his head.  
  
Ahead a small glowing light appears, dark blue so that it almost blends into the blackness around it, but it can still be seen. Schreber manages to push himself from the right wall which he's leaned against for support and again begins to walk towards it. Quicker than he thought, or would want, he's to the source. A single lamp which is hung on a hook that was fastened into one of the walls. Inside it blue fire burns brightly and under it...  
  
"Oh - God, Trinity!" Schreber exclaims, his eyes grown wide. Trinity lays on a table, on her stomach, her arms limp and hanging down either side of the wooden surface, body as limp as her arms. The back of her shirt nothing but shreds and Schreber draws in a sharp breath as he sees blood slowly trickle from lash marks against the pail skin of her back. Blood runs down her arms and drips onto the asphalt, a small pool of red color against the black-blue surface. Slowly, carefully, Schreber walks to the poor girl and turns her face to the side so he can see it. His breath catches in his throat as he sees several bad gashes go across the pretty flesh and blood dripping onto the table. Her lips had been sliced across by what appeared to be a hot knife as the black gashes was sealed. Her cheeks sliced upon by the same hot knife, three several cauterized streaks running across them, and then there had been a cold knife, one that had not closed the wound behind it, with a jagged edge that had ruined where the other knife had not. Her eyes was shut but Schreber could hear her breathing, lightly, weakly, jaggedly, but to him it sounded as the voice of an angel.  
  
"You brought this to her, yes" Said the same cold voice as before as a pail man in a black trench coat and hat steps from the shadows. Schreber yelps as though he had been cut himself and backed towards the wall a few steps.  
  
"We told you that we needed another to take your place. And we have one, now".  
  
"Leave her - alone" Schreber hissed. The Stranger simply grins, cocking his head to the side. The pail figure walks to the tortured girl on the table and lays his gloved hand on her back and presses down hard. Trinity whimpers in her sleep, her face contorting.  
  
"Such a pretty thing, yes....Such a shame you have broke her" The dead figure says, running his hand down her slashed back, smearing the blood across it. Schreber stands there, right side of his top lip in a snarl, wishing to god he could do something for her. Confused by his words at first. Broke her. How could he have broke her? But slowly, painfully, he guesses what the Stranger meant.  
  
"If you hadn't been so weak and pathetic she wouldn't have came to you. She would be happy now, yes, with a memory. She would not be in this mess, with these woes, and you would not need to lie to her....Lie to her to tell her that all her memories are lies, yes. Tell her it was your fault in the beginning yes. This is your fault"  
  
"I'm trying to - help her" Schreber replies weakly. The same, worthless tone he had always spoke to the Strangers with. The Stranger looked at him with a blank face then another slow, sadistic grin spread across his dead lips.  
  
"I think I should save you both the pain..." From his robes the Stranger pulls a long, jagged edged knife, the cold metal glowing in the cold moonlight. Schreber's eyes grow and he tries to jump towards the figure but finds himself latched to the ground. He couldn't move...The Stranger had tuned him there.  
  
"Trinity!" He screams as the Stranger lowers the knife to her figure. She winches as another gash is made across her already slashed back. Then slowly her eyelids flutter and her pail green eyes open. Amid all the pain and blood on her body and face, her eyes are the same. The same fire burns in their pail green depths and -- a new emotion that had been growing the past few weeks. A emotion nether of them knew anything of yet was reflected in both of their eyes.  
  
"Daniel" She whispers faintly, raising a blood covered hand to cup his face as the cruel blade slid around her neck. The caress...Warm, affectionate, despite all the blood on her palm. Her skin was warm, it always was, and her eyes burned with passion, locked with his own, her lips slightly parted.  
  
"Daniel".  
  
Quickly the blade tears through the flesh of her neck and blood pours from her throat but her hand never left his cheek....  
  
"TRINITY!" Schreber screamed as he shot up in bed, looking frantically into the pre-morning blackness. His blond hair was plastered to his forehead, his sheets soaking wet with cold (oh so very cold) sweat. His breath came raggedly as his eyes darted around him. Slowly he realized he was in his own bed, in the little apartment like building that joined his office. A sigh of relief escaped Schreber's lips as he ran a shaking hand through his wet hair, outside the gentle (soothing?) rumble of thunder in the distance.  
  
"Just a - dream" He spoke aloud, the sound of his own voice comforting him. Shaking, he rose out of the bed, wrapping the sheet around himself and walked through his office and into the bathroom. He almost wished he had of left the light off as his eyes slammed shut, some pain flashing through his head at the sudden brightness. Slowly he adjusted to the bathroom light and walked to the sink, the bed sheet draped around him like a toga or robe. He looked at himself in the mirror. Blond haired man with a not-half-bad complexion, middle thirties (Could be younger, he didn't know) with greenblue eyes...One of which the lid was mangled. He may have been handsome if it wasn't for that...Had he been handsome? He didn't know, nor did he care. He ran some water into the little seashell designed sink and washed his face. Although his sweat had been cold, he was rather warm. It was summer after all and the nights was always dreadfully hot. Slowly the cold droplets of water ran down his face, chin and his cream colored chest, finally disappearing under the sheet. It felt nice..And real. Reality, so much different from dreams and so much kinder (At the moment anyway).  
  
How many times has this been now? Three? One actual dream, two nightmares he remembered as he placed a dripping wet hand to the back of his neck, a water drop rolling down his spine. Honestly, if his conscious didn't leave him alone, he'd probably need a Therapist himself! But even as he thought this the harshness of the dream faded, the smell of the blood, the hissing voice of the Stranger (The warmth of her hand) faded. Perhaps this was helped by the fact that he focused his mind on the one true, so tender sweet dream he had had. Usually he would scold himself, shake his head and go read a book, all the while telling himself that all this woman was to him was a patient. But given he had just woke up from such a horrid dream, and that the summer night air mingled with the scent of the rain was getting to him, he allowed himself to focus on it as more droplets made their way down the bed sheet, one of which rolling across a flat nipple causing him to arch his back in response. He then turned the faucet off and made his way back to bed, fixing the sheet loosely around his waist. Outside the rain stopped, leaving a sweet scent in the night air and a warm breeze blew in through the open window. He laid there, left arm curled around his head as a second pillow, eyes closed and a small smile spread across his lips.  
  
"Trinity" He whispered as his right hand slid beneath the sheet.  
  
  
  
A moan..Then another...Then a loud thump and Trinity rolled out of bed, hitting the floor. She woke up rather quickly, moreso from the realization that she had made a noise than her nose colliding with the hard wood floor.  
  
"Whose there?!" Came the shout from downstairs. Quickly she slipped out the window onto the roof then jumped down behind the house and scrambled down the ally. Yes, she had snuck into a house with a abandoned bedroom in it and spent the night...She had no money to sleep any other way and a 4th night on the cold street was not an option. She was going to have to pickpocket soon. Oh, Schreber held such respect for her he had once told her, and here she was, running away from a house she had broke into and deciding to steal...Oh what a disappointment. Not only to him but to herself. It wasn't like she didn't want a job but it seemed no one wanted to hirer her...Then she had seen her own record. 2 counts of manslaughter (Self defense), 7 counts of breaking and entering, 10 counts of grand-theft auto and suspicions of murder. With a record like that, not even a prison would hirer her...Figuratively speaking of cores.  
  
Sighing she jumped onto a trash can and up onto a iron pipe that stuck out from the side of the wall. She was still in her own thoughts as she flipped onto another pipe some ways in front of her, spun around on it two times then jumped onto the roof top. It was a pretty day, just enough white clouds in the sky, sun shining merrily down onto the city, a cool breeze blowing her loose gray hair behind her shoulder. She had recovered some more memories, thanks to Dr. Schreber, and now she could do a vast amount of gymnastics and her agility seemed to have jumped a few notches. Which came in handy with her lifestyle.  
  
She had dreamt about him last night, this was the second time. Why was she having dreams about him? It didn't make sense....Nether did the mounting tension in her stomach whenever he looked her in the eye. She cursed at herself as she jumped to another rooftop, chilling her emotions. This was not right. It wasn't right to feel this way about a -- a--  
  
"Shrink!" She finished out loud, now pacing, "Yes, I know he's intelligent, friendly, caring, kind and handsome but -- This is WRONG!".  
  
'Why?' asked a little voice inside her head, 'Why is it so wrong to have feelings for a man who is helping you, who is all the things you would ever consider to be good? Why?'. Because...She didn't understand it and she didn't like what she didn't understand. She didn't understand why her heart rate increased when she heard his voice, she didn't understand why her temperature rose when he looked at her, and most of all, she didn't understand why her stomach did cartwheels when he touched her hand. Two Months had passed sense their trip to Shell Beach where she had found her old home in a remote part, abandoned and ran down, spray paint all along the walls, all the furniture gone. Just....Empty. Just as empty as she had been...Wasn't she still empty? She didn't know.  
  
Main Square clock began chiming. It was 9am. Wrestling with her thoughts she jumped over a few more closely placed rooftops then leapt down onto a fireescape and walked out of the ally, turned the corner and walked straight to the little cafe where she could get some coffee in her and calm her thoughts.  
  
"Daniel" She whispered to herself without actually knowing it.  
  
  
  
Two O'clock in the afternoon. Trinity was expected in a hour. She'd probably be early as always. He had come to expect that from her. Slowly Schreber rose from his seat and placed a file in the filing cabinet. Sighing he limped to the window and looked out onto the busy, bustling, happy city, in the distance seagulls playing happily could be heard. He seemed to live his entire life in this office...Hell, he DID life his life in this office. Every sense the Strangers had been defeated he had no reason to leave his office. His little bedroom was ajunctioned to the office, along with a very small kitchen that consisted of a sink, a fridge and a microwave. Yes, every now and then he'd leave to get groceries (frozen diners) but aside from that, he really never had to go anywhere. Either his patients came to the office or he made phone sessions for those in prison. He was a pathetic little man in his opinion and he was very sure all his patients shared the same view...Except for Trinity.  
  
She was the only one who had ever truly smiled at him even if it was only a rare occasion. She didn't regard him strangely when he spoke and she didn't insult him when she didn't think he could hear her. He was very thankful for her actually. It pained him that he had to lie to her and build hopes in her only to crash them down. How would she react when she found out that everything she had struggled to remember was a lie? He had found himself asking this question over and over, each time a image of what would happen. It was the same every time. She would look a him, a confused smile spread on her lips and ask him if he was joking. When she saw how serious he appeared she'd say he was crazy, he inside wishing he was, it would take the pain away slightly. He'd tell her again, with more detail than any lie or joke could be weaved with and she'd glare at him, struggling to keep her emotions in check but failing. Tears would build in her eyes and her lip would tremble just before she slapped him..Or hit him...Both perhaps, she was so unpredictable...He had made her that way. She then would yell at him, ask him why and not waiting for an answer she'd storm out of the office and never see him again. She'd ignore him if she saw him on the street...She'd be shattered. He'd be shattered into more pieces than she, however. He'd be more pathetic, more lonely than before she had first walked into his office. He'd be forever lost in musing over her, forever confused by the boiling emotions inside him he tried to chill but never could quite conquer...Didn't want to conquer.  
  
Schreber shook himself, disparate to get rid of the angry, screaming voice inside his head he was sure Trinity would use once he told her. He had work to do and he needed his head clear. Looking towards the clock he was somewhat shocked that it was already two twenty. How long had he stood here? Long enough to get a cramp in his bad leg. Perfect.  
  
Groaning he limped to a chair and seated himself down, stretching his leg out a little. He didn't need to think about this just before a session with her, it would only distract him. He didn't need that. He was beginning to ease the idea of what the city used to be onto her and he needed to concentrate fully on what he was doing unless he messed up.  
  
A knock on the door. Schreber jumped. It was only Two Twenty-four, Trinity was known for being early but not THIS early. And here he was, with his emotions still out of the can.  
  
"Come in" He called, raising out of the chair. The door opened and instead of the graceful gray haired woman he was expecting in walked a tall man with a nice tan, curly black hair with blue eyes. Schreber's face lit up slightly at seeing his - friend? Was Murdoch a friend? Well, he guessed so after thinking of all the times he had called Schreber his friend.  
  
"Hello Daniel" Murdoch said, a smile on his lips as he extended his hand. Schreber smiled back and shook the taller man's hand.  
  
"Mr. - Murdoch, what a unexpected - surprise" Schreber said. Murdoch shook his head and sighed.  
  
"For the billionth time, call me John".  
  
"Sorry. John. What - brings you here?" Schreber asked, walking to the table with the liquor flasks.  
  
"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd see how My old friend was doing. After all you did help in saving the city" He added, accepting the scotch Schreber handed him.  
  
"Nonsense" Schreber said, waving his hand in a dismissive manor as he limped to his chair. Murdoch laughed as he sat down in one of the chairs meant for visitors in front of Schreber's desk and lounging out a little. He looked around the office, smile still on his lips.  
  
"You've changed a few things around here sense the last time I was here. Although, that had been right after I had remolded the city. Hows businesses?". Schreber couldn't help but grin. Murdoch was so forward and, in a way, charming.  
  
"By that I - take it you mean My - practice. I have a few - patients, enough, some are quite - interesting" He said, unable to stop another grin as he spoke the last word.   
  
Murdoch's smile grew.  
  
"Interesting eh'? Do tell. Any patients who dream they shit trout?" Murdoch asked, trying to restrain himself from chuckling. Schreber laughed at the joke, amazed how - filled it had sounded from a few months ago.  
  
"No, unfortunately - not. I have however taken on a - case who - sees ghosts" Schreber replied, trying to avoid the mention of Trinity. For now at the moment however. He didn't know how to approach her, seeing as her and Murdoch was so alike. They chatted for a while when a knock came at the door. Schreber looked at the clock. Two fifty-three. Yep, early, right on time for her.  
  
"Expecting company?"  
  
"Ah, yes a - patient of - mine" Schreber replied, "Come in". The door opened and in walked Trinity. Her face was as calm and composed as ever, her trademark belt wrapped around her leg, attaching to her jeans beltloop, this time a shirt that resembled the one he had once loaned her tied at her stomach, the lower sector of her abs showing. Murdoch rose from his seat, a smile on his face.  
  
"Miss Butler, this - is Mr. John - Murdoch, a former patient of - mine. John, Trinity Butler, another - interesting patient" Schreber introduced the two. Trinity regarded Murdoch for a few seconds then took his extended hand.  
  
"Pleasure" The two spoke at the same time. Trinity released Murdoch's hand then looked at Schreber.  
  
"Did I interrupt something? I could come back latter"  
  
"Nonsense" Murdoch said, waving his free hand, "I was simply checking on a friend of mine. He seems to be doing quite well for himself" He said, turning his head and winking at Schreber who had no idea what the meaning behind the wink was.  
  
"I'm afraid I do need to be going though".  
  
"Don't leave on My account" Trinity said, a small smirk on her lips which was the normal equivalent of a smile for her.  
  
"No, I was about to leave anyway". With that, Murdoch finished his drink and sat the glass down on the table, "Take care of yourselves".  
  
"You as - well, Mur--John"  
  
"Have a nice day". Murdoch smiled at the two fairwells and left.  
  
"Interesting gentleman" Trinity spoke a few seconds after then looked Schreber in the eyes, " How are you today?". Again, Schreber felt a pang inside him of the unknown feeling, it sparked whenever she was kind to him. Which was offten. He quickly silenced it and answered that he was fine.  
  
"Something - to drink?" He asked. Trinity shook her head.  
  
"No but thank you very much" A pause as she looked out the window, Something was in her eyes...Guilt perhaps? But why would she feel any guilt?  
  
"Actually, I was wondering if I could take you somewhere". 


	4. Teardrops

Schreber slipped into the passenger's side of the large Ford, Trinity already in the Driver's seat. She looked like she was deep in thought as she ran her hand over the wheel and along the gear shift. Had she ever drove? He knew that in the memories she was meant to have. She had been a expert driver and had won many high speed car chases. But she wasn't that girl, and even though that was a small blessing, he was sure she lacked some necessary skills.  
  
"Can you...?" He left the question open, knowing she knew what he meant. She grinned and turned they key, a gentle rumble sound issuing from under the hood.  
  
"Only one way to find out I suppose" She said, in a somewhat cocky tone. Schreber gave her a sympathetic grin. She only used that tone when she wasn't really sure. Slowly she put the car in gear and pulled out of the little parking slot.  
  
A half hour later they was driving down the highway, both windows down as the warm summer breeze blew inside and played with their hair. Schreber had his hat in his lap, afraid that it would blow out the window if he kept it on his head. Trinity seemed to remember how to drive as she seemed at home behind the wheel, her left arm resting on the door, curling a lock of loose silver hair behind her ear.  
  
"Where are we - going?" He asked at length, smiling inside at how the sunlight danced in her green eyes. Trinity didn't answer right away, just took a right turn off the main highway and down a empty road.  
  
"Some place comforting" She answered finally. Schreber's brow furrowed at her tone. It didn't sound exactly happy. In a third of a hour they came to a very large cliff. She stopped just outside the grass boundary and turned the engine off. Silently the two got out of the car and she walked towards the cliff and sat down so that her legs dangled off the high cliff. Schreber stayed a safe distance from the edge, he was afraid of heights, but was close enough to see her profile.  
  
"When I 'woke up' I wondered about the city a lot. I felt as though I had been whammed upside the head by a very hot frying pan. I finally came here. It was a beautiful night....I fell asleep right here. I was secretly hoping I'd fall off in My sleep" She gave a humorless chuckle, "Guess I wasn't supposed to....". Schreber finally understood. This had to do with their last session. She had recovered a memory but it was one she could have done without. It was a fight she had gotten herself into and he knew exactly which one it was. Sighing, Schreber eased towards her and sat a small distance behind her.  
  
"I know your - in morning right - now, Trinity"  
  
"You have no idea" She replied, looking down into the crashing waves against the high rock wall. In the ocean several dolphins played merrily together as the cry of seagulls sounded above them. She had lost her best friend in the fight. And what was more torturing about it....She had been the one to shoot the killing bullet. The man who she had been fighting with decided to use him as a human shield and she hadn't had time to stop herself. The command had already been gave and his life ended a few moments after in her arms. She still hadn't said what his last words was and he doubted she would...He knew though.  
  
What was the meaning to 'I Love You' anyway? The memories he had imprinted himself with gave the cold hard facts of the words. A stirring of emotions between man and woman, parent and child. But that was it. He had no idea what it felt like to actually have them. He only knew the book meaning of it, and that was only so he could program the people of the city. He was sure they had a better idea though...  
  
He felt another pang as he saw the pained expression on her face. He knew that feeling very well. He had felt it every instant he had lived sense the Strangers had put him in their service. Pain, guilt, sorrow. He knew all these very well. He reveled in them. Only after she had came into his life did they begin to lighten.  
  
A teardrop fell down her cheek.  
  
Before Schreber knew what he was doing he reached forward and wiped away the tear, letting the palm of his hand linger on her cheek for a instant and then slowly, the tips of his fingers sliding across her skin, took it away. He was surprised to see her lean her face in the direction his hand had went. She blinked, he echoed the action, and she looked up into his eyes. The emotion in them was amazing. Her eyes was always so full of emotion...Only one he didn't understand.  
  
"I killed him" She spoke, moreso of a whisper as she was putting most her energy into trying not to cry. Schreber shook his head but did not say anything. She hadn't killed him. She hadn't been the one to pull the trigger. She wasn't the same person as the one who had. She was innocent yet paying for the crime that he had dreamed up for her. He didn't know how to help her.  
  
"I...I didn't even understand the meaning of his last words". She lowered her head again to watch the dolphins. Schreber breathed out as his eyes closed. His heart ached to see her like this and it killed him to know he couldn't help her. Wasn't it what he was supposed to be doing? Helping her? How come he couldn't summon up one of his cookie-cutter answers that Psychiatrists was known for to comfort her?  
  
"I..." Was all he was able to choke out. Trinity shook her head as though to silence him. They stayed like that in silence for half an hour.  
  
"I'm sorry...I guess I just wanted to get that out" Trinity finally spoke, looking into Schreber's eyes again. He nodded, acting as though he understood when he didn't, and gave a false grin. He looked out into the horizon, the sunlight shining in his short corn-blond hair and his smooth skin. Trinity looked at his profile, bombarded by feelings she had no idea what were, captivated by the sight of him. His face so calm and beautiful in the sunlight, the even sound of his breath the only sound being made by him.  
  
"Human emotions are - confusing things, Miss - Butler. The emotions you - feel now will fade in time" He said at length, wondering inside that if what he said went for all of those emotions, "Some people - out there" A motion of his hand toward the horizon, "would think that - they could find the key to - life in our intelligence...And memories. When in fact they - should be watching our - emotions. That - is where the soul - lay, in ones emotions. All of our- joys and hurts always take a effect on our - soul, and a soul is forever. No - memory can - erase what the soul knows" He said, turning his head to lock eyes with her, "Remember that". She grinned, not just the slightly there smirk, but a grin that slowly turned into a smile as another stray teardrop rolled down her cheek. Schreber again wiped the tear away but this time before he pulled his hand away Trinity caught it by the wrist and urged it to stay on her cheek. Her eyes closed, causing more tears to be released from her eyes and leaned her cheek into the warmth of his palm. As though he had no control of his limbs, he wiped his thumb across her cheek, catching the teardrops, and pushed his hand back into the contours of her face a little more. This felt so...  
  
'Right' The same little voice in his head answered him. It was as though some of the confusion in him settled as he sat here with her face in his palm. He felt warm inside, all the pain and worthlessness he felt dieing for just a few fleeting moments. He had the almost uncontrollable urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her forehead. To run his fingers through her gray hair and rock her back and forth in his embrace, whispering to her that everything would be alright. He wanted more than just the warmth of her face in his palm, he wanted to feel her in his arms more than anything, to feel the warmth of her against him and bury his face in her neck.  
  
But he didn't. He just stayed there, his palm cradling her face as the sun slowly began to set, the happy crying of the seagull echoing off into the horizon.  
  
The night's moonlight glinted on the windshield of the car as he drove back to his office. He could still feel the warmth of her face in his palm even now as his hand searched for a cold place on the steering wheel. She had just been dropped off at a cafe, saying she had matters to attend, and now he drove alone back to his little...Home. Why did he feel like this? And more to the point, what was these feelings? He was supposed to understand human emotions, how come the meaning of this one eluded him?  
  
He sighed as he parked and limped up the steps to the building. Lost in his thoughts he made his way to his office, walked in and sat down, not even bothering to lock the door behind him. He could still hear her breathing in his mind. He could still make out the outline of her face in the bright sunlight in his vision. He wondered if it had been a mistake to do so. To take her face into his palm. Look at what it had done to him. All his calm after that had been a front when inside he wanted above everything else to kiss her....Why?  
  
He fell asleep in the chair still thinking about this and many other things. In his dreams he would revisit those so precious but few (intimate) moments they had shared on the bluff and he would this time act on his desires.  
  
  
  
She could still feel his palm on her cheek. Her own rose to trace where his hand had been, fingers playing lightly around where the outline of his hand had been. She hadn't understood why it had comforted her to feel his hand on her cheek the first time, all she knew was that it did. All she knew was it calmed the raging torment in her heart to feel the warmth of his hand against her face. It had calmed the confusion in her and dimmed the memory of her best friend dieing in her arms and perhaps even had unraveled some of the mystery around this unknown feeling she felt and therefore would not let it go the second time. Oh how she had ached to lean forward into his arms, to fell him embrace her. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair and feel his soft skin under her lips. Oh the last above all raged in her, even now the want to know what it would have felt like to kiss him raged in her, white-hot and almost unbearable. Such bittersweet torment.  
  
"You OK?" The somewhat chubby, stubble faced owner of the cafe asked, reviving her from her thoughts. She nodded. He refilled her cup without her asking with coffee and even creamed it for her. She thanked him and he went to the next costumer. She looked down into the milky brown liquid as a teardrop came to her eye. He didn't know how pathetic she was. He didn't know her intention for the fat man up ahead of her in a very large bowler hat with a cigar in his mouth. He didn't know how she got the money to pay him, even though he had insisted so hard that she didn't. She sighed guiltily as she mimicked the large man's actions by standing. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her and saw they wasn't. She followed at a safe enough distance for a few minutes then took a turn into a ally. The fat cat looked behind him, thinking he heard something then shrugged it off and continued walking down the street. He didn't feel the tug at his back pocket as he passed the next alleyway and now Trinity was a thousand dollars richer, with double the guilt.  
  
  
  
Schreber groaned as he popped his neck. The morning sunlight softly arched onto his sleepy face as he stirred, winching as his back gave a particularly loud pop. His glasses was lopsided on his face as he looked around the office, wondering how he had got here. He remembered within a few seconds and he straightened his glasses on his face. He turned his head to look out the window and sighed. Today Trinity wouldn't be here, nor would she tomorrow. Friday however...Friday she'd be back. He didn't know whether to be thankful that it was such a short time away or regret it. He leaned back in the recliner, unconsciously rubbing his right palm, as his eyes slightly unfocused and finally closed.  
  
"Ah, Dr. Schreber, back again, yes?". The cruel hissing of the Strangers' voice. Unlike last time, Schreber knew where he was. He looked around the large domed room where all the dead, pail, emotionless Strangers stood, looking upon him coldly. Schreber suddenly felt a uncontrollable knot of fear in his stomach as he felt the cold bite of shackles on his wrist and ankles. The cold steel of the round operating table pressed into his bare back. Mr. Hand, he recognized, was standing the closest to him. He had failed to complete a certain task that had been assigned to him and he was now being punished. Schreber whimpered as he saw the table full of instruments to the side of him.  
  
"Oh God - no" He whimpered in his pathetic voice as Mr. Hand stepped toward him. The Stranger took no notice of his plea as he looked over the instruments.  
  
"Doctor", This voice was deeper but still cold. Mr. Book stepped from the crowed of Strangers that was around him, looking at him with cold blue eyes, "You failed to imprint. You must be punished, yes".  
  
"No...Oh - god please - no! I'm sorry! It won't - happen - again! Please!". None of them took heed of his cries for mercy. Mr. Hand picked up a very long flat shaped piece of metal from the table. Schreber's pleas grew louder as the last few inches of the instrument began glowing red. It was always like this, he'd cry and beg, only earning back the cold stares of those around him. With each little plea he broke in even more. With each outcry, each scream of pain he molded into the role of their puppet even more. His voice, after many turns at this, finally cracked and broke and forever there would be a slight hiss to it and his leg was twisted in the same stroke. It was probably at the same time that his spirit broke as well, for he obeyed without question from there on out. Not until Murdoch would come...But would he ever come? In this large room where his screams rang out so clearly, so loudly, he didn't know. Would he ever be free again?  
  
Schreber woke with a start, one of his old wounds aching in protest...Or in response to the dream. After a few seconds he realized he was back in his office, having fell asleep in his recliner. The sunlight in the room as now bright, no longer the lazy soft red glow it had been, and outside the busy bustle of the people could be heard. Schreber rose from his seat, listening to the popping and cracking of his tortured joints, and limped to the window. He spent a lot of time looking out this window, he knew, looking out onto the so many happy people who had no knowledge of what had happened. The oh so many people who was....Free. Unlike him. He used to think that if the Strangers was ever overthrown he'd be free from the hell they had weaved for him. But he had been wrong. The hiss in his voice, the wounds, the leg, this was all but a very small part of his personal hell. Everywhere he was sounded by it, every person in this city was such a large part. Because time and time again he had watched their slumbering face as he imprinted them, throwing their true identity even farther out of reach until they'd never know again. Some of them would winch in their sleep as the hallow needle went into their forehead and for that instant, with dread or so heavy in his bones, he was afraid they'd wake. Afraid and hoping. Afraid, because if they awoke and the Strangers found out, he'd be punished even though he didn't deserve it. Hoping because they would be trying to fight for their identity and perhaps would claim it. The latter never happened, it was impossible. A impossible hope...  
  
Just like those of Trinity. She, as everyone in this town, would never know who she was. But in turn, she wanted to find out who she really was. Who she had been....She'd never know, just like him, just like everyone in this city.  
  
Schreber bit back a sob that rose inside his throat. Yes, he lived in a hell and he only reminded it of himself. Did he enjoy tearing himself apart from the inside? Did he enjoy reminding himself of how he had betrayed everyone in this city? Yes...He supposed he did. Or, perhaps, it was because he had nothing else to do to take his mind away from that oh so unpleasant fact. Everyone in the city lived happily but not him, because he knew the truth, and there was nothing to distract him from it. Aside...  
  
"Aside - from Trinity". Yes, Trinity gave him a few moments peace when she was around. She made the feelings of traitorism and regret fade and actually brought light to his hell. But, in the same turn, she also confused him and made him act in ways he did not understand yet longed for. He wanted to feel those emotions build inside him until they was almost uncontrollable. He wanted his heart rate to increase, to feel his stomach lurch and stretch in such a delightful way. And yet....He was scared of them. They frightened him in a way he didn't understand (Which was becoming oh so common for him lately). Before she had came he had been able to understand everything within himself and outside, even if the pain and guilt was almost more than he could cope with. Now, he was completely different and this change both made exited him and scared him. Made him long for her yet made him wary of her. He wanted to know why this was and what was going on. And above all he wanted......  
  
Her. 


	5. Giving In

It was raining again, it rained a lot in this city. Trinity say on the twin sized bed and looked out at the falling rain, teardrops welling in her eyes. It was Wednesday...Darren had died on a Wednesday. She looked down at her own hands. She could still see the blood from the wound on them, even now as she looked over the soft white skin, riddled with burn scars. She could still feel the blood pouring from the wound as he looked up into her eyes. His breath was fast, ragged, and sometimes gurglely as blood seeped from the side of his mouth. Tears had coursed freely down her cheeks, as they did now, and fell onto his face. He grinned at her and had whipped at one of her cheeks.  
  
"I love you" She whispered to herself. She hadn't understood those words when he had spoke them and she still didn't understand them. What was love? What was it supposed to be and why was it so important that Darren had said he loved her as his last words? She didn't understand. But wasn't that part of her though? Hadn't she been wondering through this city now for more than a year now without knowing much of anything? She bent her head down, resting her forehead on her knees as she began to sob, her body shaking with the force of them. Why was she being tortured like this? She was sure having these memories while knowing who one was was painful enough but to not know who you are, to wonder without any memories whatsoever for so long, then remember something as painful as this....She'd rather take whiplashes to her back. And she had, the scars on her back proved it...  
  
She rose her head to look about the room she had rented with the stolen money. She had been forced into this existence. Forced to stalk around the back alleyways and steal just so she wouldn't starve. She was forced to sit now in this room and cry over something she should have been through with crying many years ago. She was forced to be pathetic...  
  
Slowly she rose from her seat on the bed and walked out the room. Perhaps a walk would help her mood.  
  
*~*  
  
I've been living a lie,  
  
Theres nothing inside  
  
*~*  
  
  
  
The pool was basically empty as Schreber limped into the building. He looked around at the familiar walls with a slight grin on his lips. It had been the only place he had been allowed a moments peace before, one of his very few, if not only, places of refuge when he had to think. It still served for the same purpose although not as much anymore. Sighing Schreber undressed, leaving a white undershirt to cover the scars across his chest, slipped into his swimming trunks and went to the pool. Slowly he eased himself into the water and sighed, leaning his head back. He had forgotten how nice it felt, the water, and the feeling of almost floating. Outside the falling rain could be heard beating against the roof of the building, a gentle breeze and every now and then a thunderbolt. Slowly Schreber felt himself loosing consciousness. He wondered half mindedly if he should sleep or not. It seemed whenever he slept lately he had a nightmare...Or had a dream about Trinity. Whichever, both was resulting in him loosing sleep.  
  
A footstep.  
  
Schreber was quickly stirred from his lulled state and sat upright in the pool. He always expected to see a tall pale man in a black trench coat and flat rimmed hat to be standing at the edge of the pool with a sour look on his face to this day. But, to his great relief, it was not. No one was in the main area of the pool so it must have been someone in another part of the building. The domed effect of the roof always carried noises. Settling back down in the water he heard more footsteps. A sharp 'click' like something hard being pressed to the tile floor. A woman's high heel or a boot. The sound circled around the area he was in, stopped and turned to walk straight towards him. He could hear breathing now. Slightly strangled and slow, as though whoever it that was here was trying not to cry. Schreber's brow furrowed as he saw something ahead that looked like silver hair.  
  
  
  
Trinity walked about the street outside the hotel for a small while, not caring that she was soaking wet in the rain or that she could catch a cold. Perhaps it she got frozen enough some of these feelings would go away. Maybe there was truth that if a person was cold inside they could barely ever get hurt....Who had said that? Her? She didn't know. It was a random quote of a memory that had flashed into her mind some time ago. At first she thought that was a very heartless saying but now more and more she was believing it was true.  
  
She didn't bother to look ahead as she walked towards the pool house. Her feet knew every corner of this city and they took her to wherever would make her feel better automatically. She didn't notice the familiar black Ford car in the parking lot as she entered the building. She looked around the lobby and was relieved to see no one was there. True, the fact she had just been in the rain covered her tears, even the ones that was still flowing, but her eyes was very red. Slowly she walked towards the main pool, her boots making a sharp 'clicking' sound against the tile floor. She usually came here when she was upset. Something about the water calmed her even if she didn't swim very much. She couldn't bare the sight of her scared body in a bathing suit so she just sat at the edge of the pool with her legs submerged in the water.  
  
'Oh shut up' She thought to herself as she sniffled. Hadn't she cried enough lately? For the love of God she even cried in front of Schreber. And while she was sure he was used to that sort of emotion from a woman, it was not like her to cry...At least she thought so. She couldn't speak for the person she had -been-.  
  
In her thoughts she didn't pay attention to where she was going and she took a left turn, leading her into a hallway that circled around the main pool.  
  
Finally realizing she was taking herself to the back exit she sighed and turned around and started walking towards the pool again. Her hair flopped loose and wet around her shoulders. Then, distinctively she heard a small sound, like the lapping of water. Someone must be in the pool after all. Well, whatever. Maybe the company of another human being would help her, even though she shied away from humans as much as possible. It was embarrassing when someone asked "Where do you come from?" and you couldn't really answer them truthfully.  
  
She looked up as she passed a pillar and froze in her tracks and felt as though she had stopped breathing. In the water, was the last person she had expected to run into.  
  
'Daniel'  
  
  
  
Schreber's eyes widened as he saw Trinity come from behind the back door which led to the alleyway exit. Her head was bowed down and she had her arms wrapped around one another across her chest. She was soaking wet, again, and sniffled several times. Water streaked down her face...Or was those teardrops?  
  
For a instant he considered getting out of the pool and leaving. He had no idea how to act around her anymore. She confused him and stirred things in him that made him want to jump out a window and sing all at the same time. But, on the other hand, she looked like she didn't need to be alone. He knew how she could get at times and he knew that the memory of Darren dyeing in her arms was still fresh in her mind.  
  
She looked up and their eyes locked. His breath caught in his throat and he felt as though his heart had stopped. Her mouth went slightly slack and her eyes widened, he was sure his own did the same, and they stayed like that for an eternity or so it seemed. Again his stomach did flip-flops.  
  
"Hi" She finally muttered, fitting a half grin onto her frozen looking lips. Oh she must have been cold.  
  
"Hello" Schreber replied, mirroring the action of placing a grin on his lips.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't think anyone would be here" Trinity spoke, starting to turn.  
  
"Don't be. It is a - public - place after - all" Schreber said quickly. Suddenly he didn't want her to go. Trinity shrugged as though to agree with him and walked to the edge of the pool, avoiding his eyes again.  
  
"Would it be OK if I-"  
  
"Joined me?". Trinity for some reason bent her head so that he could barely see her cheeks. From what he could see they was flaming red.  
  
"No. I don't swim...Just soak My feet in the water" She said. Schreber chuckled although it was a forced act. It was becoming harder for him to act normal around her. Why had he sounded so eager when he had asked if she wanted to join him? He scolded himself. He probably offended her.  
  
"Be - My guest" Schreber smiled. Trinity nodded, balancing herself with great ease on one foot a she took her boots off and sat at the edge. Her right foot retracted slightly as she felt the water then dipped in.  
  
"Didn't expect - to see you - until - Friday"  
  
"Nor I you" She said, still looking into the water. Schreber noted a croaky sound in her voice. Silence fell over the room so that the only sound in the room was the falling rain against the building roof and the lapping of water if one of them moved. Schreber saw her chest jump and heard a sharp intake of breath. A sniffle. A empty feeling filled his chest.  
  
"Are you - OK?"  
  
"Fine" She answered quickly, to quickly. Schreber looked at her sadly as he saw several more teardrops fall down her cheeks. Slowly he swam towards her and tugged at one of her submerged toes. She looked up at him, a silver eyebrow raised, with red rimmed pail green eyes. Yes, she had been crying long before she had came here.  
  
"No your - not" He said, stating the obvious, looking up into her eyes. She turned her head to the side, again the scar that went across her ear showing, and she made another sniffling sound.  
  
"I don't wanna burden you today-"  
  
"Nonsense. We - didn't bump into - each other by - accident". He blinked at his own statement for it was right. Fate had sent her here today he sensed but he had no idea why. Trinity closed her eyes and shook her head. Then nodded.  
  
"I've just been thinking".   
  
"About Darren?". A nod as her chest froze. She was trying to fight back tears and failed slightly. Schreber tugged at the toe again and she looked at him, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.  
  
"It does not - do to - dwell - on memories, Trinity. Especially bad - ones". Trinity gave him a look that said "What do you know" and he felt like sighing. He knew all to well. He knew the pain they could inflict in you, the torment they reminded you with, he knew how they turned your life into a living hell. He knew the problems they made and would not let die.  
  
"I - know this is - hard for - you - Trinity. Do believe me I - know. But I - do not think - he would - want - you to cry over - him a second time if he - cared - for you...I wouldn't". Schreber's eyes widened at his words. Why had he said that? Trinity's right eyebrow rose slightly as she locked eyes with him. Silence passed, another moment that felt like a Earth Age, his skin freezing in the warm water. Then her lips curled upwards the slightest bit and she took a breath, tears still rolling down her cheeks.  
  
"Give me My toe back". Schreber blinked and realized he was still holding onto her big toe. He grinned and looked back up at her.  
  
"No". Trinity blinked two times in quick secession and tried to pull her foot from the water. Schreber tightened his grip on her toe and refused to let it go. Trinity growled, and although her voice was still croaky from her crying, she sounded humored. Good.  
  
"Let me go, Doctor Schreber!" She stated, trying to pull her foot away. Schreber complied this time...But grabbed her ankle a second latter.  
  
"What are you--ACK!" She exclaimed as he pulled her down into the water, a loud 'Splash!" sounding as water lapped up onto the edge. For a second Schreber thought she was struggling because she couldn't swim, that her arms was flinging about because she was trying to grab onto something solid.  
  
And then her hand caught him right across the face, not to hard but enough to get the point across. Trinity's face came from the water and spit some water out of her mouth. Schreber grinned widely at her and this time it was not forced.  
  
"I thought - you said you - couldn't swim?"  
  
"I didn't say 'couldn't' I said 'Don't'" She said and a second later Schreber was caught by a large splash. Schreber laughed and returned the favor, making sure not to move his arm to quickly less he hurt himself. Trinity squealed and went to splash back but her wrist was caught by Schreber. She tried with her other hand but he had already grabbed that wrist as well. He had her pinned against the pool wall, very close to her, his good leg pinning one of hers underwater against the wall as well.  
  
"So - you can - laugh". Trinity grinned in a cocky manner and shrugged as best she could with her arms immoveable. He grinned himself, thinking how beautiful she looked with her lips curled upwards as she looked him in the eye. They stayed like that for several seconds and he thought about pulling away before someone came in and caught them like this. He hardly thought that the sight of a man in a tank-top and red swimming trunks pinning a girl dressed in jeans and a T-shirt in the water up against the wall would look right. But...What did he care? What did someone else's opinion matter? As long as he could stay close to her.  
  
Again his stomach did a flip-flop. Why had he thought that? What did it mean to him to be close to her like he was right now?  
  
Everything  
  
  
  
Trinity chuckled a little as she felt her clothes clinging to her under the water.  
  
"So - you can - laugh" Schreber spoke, his voice so beautiful. She grinned, it felt such a natural response, and he echoed her action. They stayed like that for several moments until she realized how wonderful his skin felt against hers. How warm his hands felt on her wrists and the contact of his leg against hers underwater, even if she was wearing jeans. How delightful it felt to be such a short distance from his body. And how absolutely beautiful his eyes was. She had always thought they was nice but up close they looked absolutely stunning. Searing. Seeing.  
  
Suddenly she wondered if she should allow this to go any further, she had no way of knowing he was thinking the same thing as he, like her, began to become flooded with these odd feelings again. She didn't want to loose control, who knew what would happen. All these feelings she had been feeling lately being let loose. All her desirers...She didn't know what would happen.  
  
Did she care?  
  
No  
  
*~*  
  
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems  
  
got to open my eyes to everything  
  
*~*  
  
Schreber blinked, she repeated the action, but no other movement was made. He was to lost in his thoughts, in the feel of her skin against his hands, in the smell of her, in the sound of her breathing. What would happen if he acted on his desires right now? What would happen if he closed that small distance between them and pressed his lips to hers? Was he sure that would settle these feelings? No...Was he sure he wanted them to be settled?  
  
No  
  
  
  
Trinity couldn't break her eyes away from his, she couldn't move her arms to indicate he should let her go, she couldn't do anything but float there in the water and fall victim to the feelings she had been trying to fight for the past few months, fall pray to what she didn't understand it. Every sense she had 'woke up' and began her new life she had tried and had succeeded in not doing anything she didn't understand. She had strove to act on wit, not impulse, and not do anything without thinking very hard about it. Even when she pick pocketed she thought on it. Took everything into aspect. How wealthy the person seemed, if they could live without what they had in their pocket. If they couldn't she'd find someone else, if they could she would pick them. She always acted on reason. And then the wind floated her a card to this man who blew all that away. Now she was here, pinned against a wall by him, unable to think. All her reason blew out the window. Did she miss it? Did she need it?  
  
Not right now  
  
Did she need him?  
  
Yes  
  
  
  
What was he doing? The very thing he had been trying to prevent himself from doing for the past few months, acting exactly the opposite of what he had been trying to be. He was also falling victim to these emotions he had analyzed time and time again and was stumped by. If he acted on his impulses, defy his own reason and fulfilled his desires he had no idea of where came from what would happen? He had no idea. But he knew that if he let her go he would never get this chance again. Could he live with knowing that his desires could never be filled? That he had done what he considered right and allow himself to let her go. Could he live without her?  
  
No.  
  
*~*  
  
Frozen inside without your touch without your love darling  
  
Only you are the life among the dead  
  
*~*  
  
  
  
Slowly Daniel Schreber eased his face towards Trinity Butler's, both throwing all their reason out the window and locking it. They both had no knowledge of what they was stepping into nor did they care. All they knew was that they couldn't live without one another. They didn't understand the feeling inside them that had sparked the first time they ever lay eyes on each other, that had been building ever sense, that they had fought against because neither of them knew what it was, that now was driving them to this fate, was love.  
  
They loved one another.  
  
*~*  
  
Now that I know what I'm without  
  
You can't just leave me  
  
Breathe into me and make me real  
  
Bring me to life  
  
*~* 


	6. Two Aching Hearts A New Face

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark City, I don't own Schreber. I do own Trinity but you may use her if you wish, just mail me or something so I can see what you do with her.  
  
Authers Note:  
  
AAAAIIII!! I'm so so so so so so so so VERY sorry for the lack up updates, I suck. And on top of it, when I do decide to update, it's damned short and sucks. Me sowy. I'll get you another, nice pretty chap soon.  
  
There's a new character for all you in this chap. I wont go into much detail so I don't spoil it for you, just don't be surprised by a new face. So far this fic has been nothing but Schreber and Trinity and I thought I should throw in someone else for viriaty nd next thing you know, the story takes a whole new turn. Hope you like.  
  
Also, theres not much Schreber in here but My next chap will make up for it, I promiss.  
  
To all My Reviewers:  
  
Kellifer Monkey:  
  
Thank you so much. I try so hard to develope My characters good and useualy it sucks, along witht he story development. I'm sorry for the hard to read spots, My grammar sucks ass.  
  
Lea Of Mirkwood:  
  
Here you go!  
  
Lady-Appelby:  
  
Yes, Dr. Schreber was a very wonderful character (And acted out perfectly by Mr. Sutherland) and it pissed Me off that he didn't get a better ending. Not to worry, he will get a good ending with Me ;-)  
  
OK! On with the fic!!!  
  
  
  
She found herself sitting at the windowsill again, her arms wrapped around one another in a self embrace as her pale green eyes watched the sun begin to rise above the distant horizon. Absently a hand rose and brushed past her lips and her mind went back into it's tangent of thoughts. What had happened anyway? First second they were kissing, the second...  
  
Trinity sighed and shook her head. She didn't want to think on it. Whatever had happened, it was her fault, just like everything else was. Always her fault, she had come to live with that. It was her fault she couldn't remember who she was, it was her fault Darren died, it was her fault Schreber had weirded out and left her alone in the pool.  
  
That didn't help the squirming and tossing feeling that made her stomach feel like a pit of venomous snakes. Or the single teardrop that fell down her cheek, although she didn't notice it.  
  
Over and over it played in her head and she couldn't stop it, no matter how desperately she pleaded with herself, or how hard she shook her head.  
  
ISchreber had wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to the warmth of his body in the water as it keep grew warmer. Her right hand rested on his shoulder, the other gently running through his blonde hair. Time had escaped her frame of mind and for all she knew, they could have been there like that for half an hour. Maybe even an Earth Age. When he finally parted for air he smiled at her and ran his fingers along her cheek. Funny how that little caress had turned her insides to pudding. He again pressed his lips to her and whispered into her ear to stay where she was, he'd be right back. He left the pool and she waited, one of the few joy filled grins she could recall crawling over her lips. She waited until the clicking of a nearby clock began to pound into her head like a hammer and nail. The water of the pool by then felt freezing and she could already feel the first fleeting squirms of snakes in the bottom of her stomach. She crawled out of the pool and looked around the building, calling Schreber's name. She finally got to the entrance and saw Schreber's car was gone. He had left/I  
  
He had left...Why, she didn't know, but she was sure it was her fault. That had been four days ago, and she had not went to him for her appointments, and she was sure that's how he wanted it.  
  
Sighing, she left her bed and walked to the door. She stopped when her hand reached the cold silver of the knob, blinking. What did she have to do out there? Although, what did she have to do in here? Why did she want to go outside anyway? Its not like she had a pressing appointment at the crack of dawn...Or at any time, for that matter. What kept her from just sitting here and rotting? Maybe that would be the best way out of this topsy-turvery hell. Just sit and give up and wait for a way out.  
  
Trinity shook her head. She may not know much about herself, but she did know that she did NOT give up. Turning the knob she walked out into the hallway of the little motel and went down to the lobby. She was not giving up, and no mortal or immortal was going to make her want to either.  
  
  
  
Another book flew through the air and clanked against the wooden floor of his office, soon followed by a 6th and 7nth. What the hell had happened with him?, he wondered. One moment he was pulling a bottle of brandy from under his seat, the next he was laying unconscious in the entrance way of his apartment. His car was outside the window and he hadn't been robed, and he could fine no evidence of being psychically hurt. But, however, his mind felt wrong, somewhat...Dazed. And nothing in any of his books or personal research could supply any answers.   
  
He could only imagine how Trinity felt. God knows how long she sat there in that pool waiting for him. His darting eyes, closed tightly as he again imagined the look on her face when she realized he iwasn't/i coming back. He couldn't summon the nerve inside him to go to her and explain what happened. Would she even believe him? He thought not. He himself could hardly believe what happened, hence why he was tearing through all his books. A shiver went up his poor back as his eyes traveled across the room to where he had awoke. Why? That question that tormented him and all humans. Why?  
  
The merry sound of Trinity's laughter rang through his head. A wide smile on her face and joy in her eyes and a bittersweet smile crept across his lips. He remembered the sound of that laughter and how utterly beautiful it had been as though it was just yesterday she had came through the door, soaking wet with her hair and clothing clinging to her figure and her eyes merry.  
  
He wondered if he'd ever hear that sound again as he flopped against the back of his chair and ran his hands through his blonde hair. Would anyone ever hear that sound? He didn't know. For the moment, the only thing he knew was that his plans to help her retrieve what memory she had locked away in her head was all but gone, because he had gave in to the unknown and screwed up. All Trinity knew is that he had left her there, alone, waiting and cold and why wouldn't she not believe his cause? he had undermined his own good will.  
  
He had failed again, he thought as he began to again run his hands through his hair but instead cupped his face in his palms and shuddered.  
  
  
  
"Damned rain" Trinity growled under her breath as she lowered her head against the falling drops as the clouds above began to spill their supply of rain for the day. Didn't it ever NOT rain in this city? She walked under the awning of the coffee shop and sat at her useual table.  
  
"No coffee, thanks though" she said to the owner as he began to fetch a cup. He regarded her with an raised eyebrow before going back to his work, shrugging. It was none of his businesses, he concluded, and he wouldn't poke his nose in where it wasn't wanted.  
  
Trinity placed her legs upon the table and looked out at the passing traffic and falling raindrops. She felt somewhat better now that she was away from her room and it's confining walls, in the sunlight (gray or not) but her stomach still felt like a pit of snakes, and she doubted caffeine would agree with it at the moment. Or anything, for that matter. She didn't like to eat anyway, food made her sick.  
  
Absently, a hand rose to her mangled ear and rubed at the flesh behind it where yet another scar rested.  
  
"May I sit here?" A gentle voice asked, shaking Trinity from her daze, causing her to jump slightly. She looked up and saw a man who stood a few inches taller than her own 5'7 with large expressive, slightly electric blue eyes and a head of curly hair that hung limp at his jawbones that, if dry, would have been very wild. He had a nice face and pleasant grin fitted onto his lips, a blonde eyebrow raised in question. Trinity looked about the place and saw that the cafe was surprisingly full. Smiling up at the man as she took her legs from the table top she nodded and he sat, thanking her. She inspected him a little further as she realized he spoke with a extremely slight lisp, although hard to notice, and had a nervous mannerism that showed through his eyes. All in all, he appeared to be a mild mannered book keeper or Librarian who was in his early thirties.  
  
"My names Jim Caldwell" he said and extended his hand for Trinity to shake.  
  
"Trinity Butler" she replied as she shook his hand, surprised at the firmness of the grip. Not hard, just firm.  
  
"Lovely weather, wouldn't you say?" Trinity chuckled as the man leaned over and tried to squeeze some of the rain from his drenched blonde locks.  
  
"Oh yes, lovely" he replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he rose back up. Coffee was set in front of the man and he looked up and thanked the owner by name. Trinity's gray eyebrow rose at this and looked at the fat man in a white apron as he turned his back and walked from the table.  
  
"I've been coming here for a while" Jim spoke as he saw the expression on Trinity's face. "I've noticed you here a lot as well. I guess it was only a matter of time before we met". Trinity nodded in agreement as her trademark grin slipped across her lips.  
  
They chatted for a while on various subjects, like the weather of the city and whatnot. Trinity didn't feel very talkative but for the sake of making company to the man she tried, feeling awkward. At the moment they was in between a pause and Jim was sipping at his coffee and Trinity was watching the rain fall, her head tilted to the side. The clock in the cafe struck three and she felt her heart pang with each chime. The melancholy that had somewhat raised since Jim's appearance settled back down into her emotions as her mind ventured back but a week ago when she had been walking through the sun filled streets to Schreber's office. Schreber...Daniel Schreber. Her soul ached at the very thought of his name. Her heart felt somewhat...Broken? yes. That was exactly it. Broken in two. She had given in and now she was coping with yet another feeling she didn't care for.  
  
"You do that a lot" Jim's voice floated to her and she blinked, turning her head to see the blonde was regarding her with his head tilted to the side slightly, his eyes thoughtful.  
  
"Do what?" She asked, bewittled.  
  
"Stare out at the rain like that with your eyes distant. Sit there for hours at a time, letting your coffee grow cold, thinking. People who do that tend to have a lot on their mind" Jim said, perking her head back to it's regular position and sipping at his own coffee, regarding her over the rim of the cup.  
  
"You watch me?" Trinity asked. She was surprised that anyone would even take notice of her presences here.  
  
"I can't really help myself, really. There's something about you that's so interesting and it draws me to observe you. Especially when you go into one of your phases where you don't even move" Jim said as he shrugged.  
  
"You sound like a Psychiatrist" she replied. And he did. There was something in his tone that reminded her a lot of Schreber.  
  
"Well, actually, I am" the blonde replied then chuckled as he saw Trinity's eyebrow go up.  
  
"I know, I don't seem the type. Looks can be deceiving though" he chuckled. Trinity nodded.  
  
"If I may pry, you usually leave here before three o'clock on Sundays. Why the change today?".  
  
"I usually have a appointment to attend" Trinity said absently, then grinned, "with my Psychiatrist". She caught the man off guard and he laughed for a moment then calmed.  
  
"How Ironic...If I may again pry, why are you not there now?". Trinity looked at him for a moment, amazed that he didn't shy away form her when learning that she was seeing a shrink. For all he knew she was very unstable and could snap at any moment. Although, on the other hand, he was a shrink and probably had diagnosed her a long time ago as being normal...Somewhat.  
  
"Good question" she said at length, not locking eyes with him. He nodded.  
  
"I'm sorry for being so nosey, my apologies".  
  
"No need to be" Trinity said quickly, afraid she offended the man. "my doctor and I had somewhat of a falling out, you could say". They again fell into a silence, although Trinity didn't look back out into the falling rain. Jim Caldwell interested her somehow, now that she thought on it. His mannerism and characteristics, and perhaps also the fact that he was a Psychiatrist.  
  
'Or' a little voice in her head chimed up, "Maybe it's the blonde hair and blue eyes. So much like Daniel's, wouldn't you say?'. Trinity shook her head to silence the voice and shuddered inside. Maybe it was a fad for shrinks to be blonde with blue eyes.  
  
"May I ask another question?" Jim asked timidly as he placed his now empty cup back on the table and crossed his legs.   
  
"Ask away" Trinity said as she shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"What was you being treated for? You seem to be perfectly normal to me aside from your broodyness". Trinity grinned, she was right, he had been analyzing her.  
  
"my memory" she said, tapping her temple with a forefinger. "Its, as yo would say, AWOL".  
  
"Amnesia?"  
  
"A rare form according to my former doctor" Trinity answered, again feeling her heart pang at the word "Former".  
  
"Would you mind telling me what you told your Doctor?" Jim asked, smiling at the man who refilled his cup for him. Trinity agreed and ordered a cup of coffee for herself and began from the beginning. About her childhood and the things she had done, all the time describing the detail she could remember it in. She left out the part about the card being sent to her on the wind, or even the flash of light and Schreber's face. He had her recite to him all the school-type knowledge she knew and even a few little nursery rhymes. Jim nodded after a length of time and leaned across the table to regard her.  
  
"Is your other doctor still treating you?". Trinity thought for a moment, her mind going through all the memories Schreber and she had made together, the laughs they had shared, and the progress they had made. Most of all, and so bitterly, her mind wondered back to the pool room and how she had crawled out of the pool and saw that Schreber had left. The past four days of emptiness and depression and teardrops.  
  
And the Kiss.  
  
"No, he isn't" she answered, pushing the last thought from her mind.  
  
"If you would be willing to have me treat you, I'd be more than happy to do so. As I've said before, Miss Butler, you interest me. I'd even be willing to treat you for free, if you can't afford it. What do you say?" Jim finally asked, holding out his hand for the second time since they met.  
  
Trinity thought on the matter for about a moment, her heart pounding in her chest, and then took his hand and shook it.  
  
"It would be my pleasure" she answered.  
  
Their hands stayed together for a few seconds then pulled apart. The deal was sealed.  
  
Trinity Butler was no longer a patient of Daniel Schreber's. 


	7. Explanation Time, More Dreams, And Hypno...

Author's Note: YAY! another chapter and it didn't take several month's to complete. Congratulate me! :-P More Schreber this time and even part of this is told through Jim's POV.  
  
I would also like to add that chapters 1-5 was written while listening to Evanescence's "My Immortal" and 6&7 (This one) was written to "My Immortal" and also Bush's "Letting The Cables Sleep". If you can nab your hands on either song, in My own opinion, it really helps to get the feeling of which I'm trying to write. On "Letting The Cables Sleep", if you can find the "Nightmare On Wax" remix, do so.  
  
And now, on to the fic!  
  
------  
  
Schreber looked at the stacks of papers that cluttered the office as he walked in through the door and sighed. His work was piling up, he knew, and he was incapable of keeping up with it in his current state. The severity of the recent cold weather was taking it's toll on his limbs and authritis was setting in at an early age, and he was having more difficulty than ever to move about. Even when he kept his office warm it shot pain through him to walk on his bad leg. Muchless when it was freezing, as it was now.  
  
Schreber placed his coat on the coat rack and limped towards the rat cage that rested on a little table of it's own and looked through the glass at the little white rat that was standing on it's hind legs, sniffling the air, his whiskers twitching. It was his way of saying hello, Schreber knew, and it brought a small smile to his lips. He also knew the little rat must be cold, so, sighing, he straightened up and limped to the heater dial and turned it until he heard it clank on. Really, he thought as he limped to his couch and eased down, wincing at the pops and cracks his bones issued due to the effort, the only reason he kept any heat in here at all is so his beloved rodent wouldn't freeze to death. And HE was the Doctor?. It was almost an amusing thought.  
  
Almost.  
  
He, himself, had became accustomed to the cold. Something inside of him snapped to it. Maybe it was his heart, his soul (if he had one) or maybe he was just growing stupid. Or a mixture of all three rolled into one. But in any cause, he preferred the cold, and had ever since he had last spied Trinity out his window. She had looked up and seen his face through the glass of his window and the look she had given him...  
  
Had frozen him to the bone. He could feel all the warmth in him drain from his body as he watched her pretty face contort into an expression of anger and hate before escaping the view of his window. With it had went all his hope, happiness...Everything but that one feeling he had finally analyzed as love. It still burned in him as hot as ever, perhaps even more. In turn, it also ached. Worse than any of his wounds ever could and at times he had to stop what he was doing and just cry. What had happened? Why hadn't he went to her and told her? Why hadn't he explained to her he didn't just leave her alone? Because she wouldn't believe him? Yes, of course. But there was something else that fought all his actions of trying to go to her and explain. Something that was even more mysterious than the feeling that pounded in his heart right now. Like a vague shape in the darkness you can just barely make out no matter how hard you concentrate on it.   
  
A paper fell from his desk and the sound of it's departure was the only sound in the room aside from his breathing. His eyes darted to where it was falling and watched it as it arched back and forth and finally eased down onto the wood floor. His work was piling up. Who would have ever thought that would be his troubles, with so few patients.  
  
Schreber jumped, a pain causing action, as a knock came to the door. He had a visitor? but who on Earth would want to visit HIM? And it wasn't like he had any patients to call on him in his office....Unless...  
  
A knot formed it's self in his stomach as he eyed the door. Could it be that the very girl he was just musing over was there? But why though? Perhaps to continue her sessions? Could her longing to know who and what she was make her forget that he had seemingly hurt her? Just act like that entire scene at the pool house never happened?  
  
Was he getting a second chance?  
  
Knuckles met the hard wood of the door again and Schreber managed to croak out a "Come in" as he struggled to his feet. He watched anxiously as the door opened wider. A mixture of disappointment and relief fell on him the instant he saw the square jawed, tanned skinned face of his friend John Murdoch come into view. He played his usual smile onto his lips and limped towards the taller man.  
  
"Ah - Mr. Mur--John. What Brings - you here on a - day like - this?" Schreber asked pleasantly as he extended his hand in greeting. Murdoch took it and shook it firmly, but being sure to watch how hard he gripped the blonde's hand.  
  
"Oh, I was sitting on My couch one today and suddenly a thought came to my mind. I haven't paid a visit to My good friend Doctor Daniel Schreber for a while, and I'm sure with this nasty weather, your about primed for a visit". Schreber laughed, a forced act, as he limped to the liquor stand and poured the man a brandy. He himself felt he would be sick if he tried to eat or drink anything at the moment. His stomach kept squirming and writhing like a pit of snakes. It had started ever since Trinity had took the heat from his body with her glare.  
  
"So, how's the weather been treating you?" Murdoch asked as he accepted the drink and sat down. He winced as Schreber sat down, again his bones and joint's popping and making odd noises as though they as in a rock band. "Not to good, huh?" He asked with a bit of sarcasm in his voice after Schreber was fully seated. The two men laughed again and began to exchange polite conversation about the time of day, the weather, the price of eggs on Avenue G. So on and what not. As they talked, the weather outside took a quick and pleasant turn and the clouds began to break up. In a few minutes time, the sun was shining brightly and the clouds was moving on in a pleasant breeze.  
  
It was only after they entered a pause as Murdoch drank his Brandy and Schreber's tongue had decided to rest that Murdoch noticed how shabby the Blonde's office had become. Paper was stacked on his desk and the floor was in need out tidying up. This was unusual for Schreber who kept his living areas very clean. It was one thing he admired about the man, his cleanliness whereas other people in his shape would hire a maid. Also, there was something in the Doctor's eyes that was not there the last time he was here. Or rather, there was something missing.  
  
"Daniel?" Murdoch asked as he span the glass thoughtfully in his strong hand.  
  
"Yes?" Schreber replied, raising an eyebrow above the rim of his wire framed glasses in question.  
  
"What's wrong?". That was the one question that Schreber was not prepared for and he sat there, staring at the taller man for a second, his brain trying to process the question.  
  
"What do - you - mean?" He finally managed to say after a seconds thought. Murdoch sighed.  
  
"Look around you, Daniel. Your office is a mess, you have paper stacked roof-high on your desk that I'm pretty sure is work, and you yourself are not acting the same. What's the matter?" Murdoch repeated. Daniel sighed. He wasn't aware that it was so obvious. Still, he did not answer the question. His eyes ventured out the window and watched as several clouds floated by in the rather rare blue sky. It was a beautiful day outside, now, and he could hear the laughing of children in the street below. The perfect day to be out in.  
  
Murdoch sighed. Once Daniel made his mind up on something, it was damned hard to get it out of his head. In some ways it was a good thing. John Murdoch doubted very much if the city would have been what it is now, or even if the Strangers would be gone if it had not been for the Psychiatrist's bullheadedness. But in other ways, it could also lead to the Blonde's undoing, and he for one could not simply stand by and watch him do so.  
  
"Daniel, I'm not just going to sit here and watch you deteriorate. And I'm not going to stop hounding you until you tell me what's the matter. Hell, I may even have Anna come over and help me out! Now, which way do you want it, the easy way where you tell me what's the matter with you, or the hard way where I bug the living shit out of you. Your choice" he said while he looked into Schreber's face. Schreber looked into the man's large blue eyes for a moment then sighed. He knew the man was right, but where would he start? How could he start? He barely was able to address the problem to himself, much less form it into words and hope that Murdoch would understand. Schreber's brain buzzed like an electrical line for a moment, many different ways of telling the story of the past few months shooting through his mind. He closed his eyes, trying to sort them all out.  
  
The sound of a little girl's laughter from outside floated into the window. The girl had a strong and beautiful voice and would make a wonderful singer some day if she chose to do so...  
  
And then Schreber knew. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, locking eyes with Murdoch.  
  
"Trinity"  
  
  
  
A loud ripping sound issued as her hand shot out from under the pillow and her body lunged up like a coiled snake that had been struck. The knife cut through nothing but the sweet smelling but cold morning air in front of her as her lungs filled and emptied rappidly with ragged breath, her chest heaving against the covers that clung to it. A few seconds latter Trinity sighed as consciousness brought her sense to her and she dropped back down onto her pillow. As she did so, a storm of white feathers shot up about her head and began floating down onto her face. Trinity watched them for a few seconds, confused, then held up her right hand which still held the knife she had been clinging to in her sleep.  
  
"Damn it" she muttered. This was the fourth pillow and really, the cost of the damned things was getting to be irritating. Rising again she turned backwards and looked at the mutilated pillow. The knife had tore right through the material and it's stuffing was spilling out all over the place. Growling, she put her feet on the floor and rose, her back popping and creaking. Her old wounds was acting up somewhat due to the bloody cold weather and she wasn't the least bit happy about it. Rising, she walked towards the chestofdrawers and looked at herself in the mirror that she had fixed on top of it. Her eyes were somewhat bloodshot, her hair in messy locks that looked like a band of rats had spent the night in it, and sweat was running down her forehead, despite the cold morning air. On her bare right shoulder an old scar ran from the top down to the side of her breast, and on down her hip was a vertical pale streak. Her right side, where her rib cage had once been showing bore several dark blue scars and some red places where the wrinkles in her sheet had imprinted themselves onto her pale skin. An ever so faint line ran vertically down from just below the cleft of her breasts to her pelvis where she obviously had been opened up for surgery. What kind, she didn't know, and what inside of her she was missing was a mystery to her.  
  
Amazingly enough, she could stand to look at all these scars for as long as she wanted. Her eyes, on the other hand...  
  
They was the only part of her that betrayed the feelings that tormented her soul. She could contort her face into any expression she wanted, any sign of pity or anger, but still her eyes shone with heartbreak. She didn't know why she still felt the pits-of-snakes feeling inside her belly, or why every time she heard the name "Daniel" in a public place her heart gave a piratical painful 'thud' against her ribs. Because...She still loved him perhaps? Was what she felt even considered love? She had read book after book lately, any kind she could get her hands on, and in most their was always two people, a man and woman, who at first started off as friends (in most anyhow) and then began to have their feelings grow into fondness, and from that stage into something more. Something beautiful that always seemed to save the two. Through thick and thin, evil and bliss, that feeling always remained. And the name they had given it was 'Love'. But it seemed to her that her feelings hurt ore than they felt blissful. For her, this was a pain that at points brought her to tears. If this was indeed love, for her part anyway, then Cupid (the little baby angel that a few stories had called the Bringer of Love) was one sadistic little bastard.  
  
A clock in the room struck 6 and Trinity jumped as she was brought back to reality. Six...There was something about Six-thirity today that...  
  
"SHIIIIT!" The platinum haired girl wailed and stormed into the bathroom. This Monday and every Monday Jim and her had breakfast! How could she have slept late? She got to bed at a fairly decent hour last night so why had she required more sleep last night? And, more so, why did she still feel like her body did not have enough rest? It was as though she had been awake all of last night or something.  
  
As she watched toothpaste begin to foam at the corners of her mouth, her mind went back to the very thing that had woke her up this morning. And just about every other morning as well. It was always the same and yet always different, she thought as she spit into the porcelain skink and reloaded her toothbrush. Last night, it had been a taller shadow she was chasing, and it had slammed up against a chain link fence. She was pretty sure there was sand beneath her boots last night, whereas Friday night she had been chasing a much shorter figure into a dark ally. One thing, however remained the same. At the end, she'd bring her hands to her face and they'd be dripping with freshly shed blood that was not her own.  
  
She looked into the reflection of her pale green eyes, her face now dripping wet with water, a soap sud clinging to her bangs. What's going on in there, she wondered as she looked deeper into her reflection's eyes. What's going on inside you? You've changed somehow and I don't know in what way. But, somehow, I have a feeling this has nothing to do with the snakes. I think this is far from that problem...And perhaps much more fatal.  
  
"I'm loosing my bloody mind" she said abruptly as she shook her head violently and walked from the bathroom.  
  
  
  
Sighing, he decided to just stop taking notes as all it did was waste paper. The man that now weighed down the couch was talking about nothing but food, as he allways did at their sessions. He would not be surprised if the man masturbated to the thought of food. Why in the name of all the suns in the star system he had taken this case on, he had no idea. Aside from that of trying to get this man over his hang up on food. When had first heard of Mr. Lynnord Richardson from another Psychiatrist, he had laughed, thinking his friend was over-exaggerateing the matter. Now he laughed at himself for doing so. This morning was the worst. The man had called him at the ungodly hour of 4:30AM to call an emergency session because had turned down a large meal at Dennys and was wondering if he was going crazy.  
  
He ran a hand through his curly hair and looked at his watch. Trinity was supposed to be here at 6:30 and it was now 6:22. She should be here any moment, knowing her habit of always being early. He had a feeling it had something to do with the obviously violent life she had led before she had lost her memory. But, whichever, it was a good habit.  
  
A knock issued on the door just as Lynnord was launching into a long debate about whether baby back ribs or pot roast would be better for the morning's second breakfast. The fat man made a grunting sound and looked at the door though piggy eyes.  
  
"I didn't know you was expecting anybody" he said in a somewhat high voice. Trinity emerged through the door a few moments latter, her hair in a pony tail and her long bangs slicked back with hair gel. He couldn't help but note that she looked rather professional without those gray locks of hair hanging in her face.  
  
"Hello Doctor Caldwell, How are..." she trailed off as she saw the large man on the couch. Screwing up her face in a confused manor she muttered in a faint British accent she had developed after a session previouse and intence sessuib, which had brought him to the conclusion she was at least part British.  
  
"Who the bloody hell are you?".  
  
"I BEG your pardon?" Lynnord said in an offended tone that would usually be associated with an extremely wealthy person.  
  
"Oh yeah!" Trinity exclaimed, realization dawning on her face, "I know who you are. What the hell you doing here at this hour? Don't tell Me you drug the poor man out of bed to discuss food".  
  
"I. Well. I. I. I." Lynnord stuttered for few moments then found his tongue, "I beg your pardon, young lady, but the Doctor and I was having a important discussion. Please go away" he said and flapped his meaty hand at her. Trinity broke out in a dry, humorless laugh that brought out more of her accent for a few seconds.  
  
"Bloody hell, you think I'm some bobby you can just order around? Jesus. Look at you! you don't need a psychiatrist, you need a liposuction surgeon!". At this the mammoth of a man jumped to his feet in a surprising surge of agility and looked at Trinity as though she was the Devil in human skin.  
  
"Excuse Me-"  
  
"Oh no" Trinity broke in as she walked behind him and forcefully pushed him towards the still open door with one arm, "Excuse *ME*. Now, be a good boy and run along. Excuse Me again, I mean go back to the sea and suck on mommy whale's tit for a while. Bye now. Don't let the door hit ya where good lord split ya!" And with that, she slammed door in a very disgruntled Lynnord Richardson's face. His proclaims of finding out who she was and suing her to no end for verbal abuse could be heard through the entire building as he made his way to the door. Turning, Trinity's pale green eyes landing on him.  
  
"Doc, you should learn to say 'no' " she stated flatly as she took a seat in front of his desk. Jim laughed politely and looked her over for a moment. She looked the same as always; hard shelled, thoughtful, and in the deepest depths of her eyes, heartbroken. He still could not pin the the cause of such a deep feeling that resided in her eyes constantly, but it troubled him. He had a feeling, however, that it had something to do wit her previous doctor, of whose name she had never told him, and he had never asked. He made a point to do so in the near future.  
  
"Perhaps I should. The man called Me at four-thirity this morning because he had decided not to take a large meal at Dennys and thought he was going, as you would say, wonkers" he grinned at Trinity's 'humph' of laughter. "Speaking of which, where should we dine today?". Trinity shrugged in her seat as her eyes ventured to the gray light that was easing in through the window, the same light of which was slightly reflected in the gel on her hair.  
  
"Well then, how about I select this time?". Trinity grinned in a way he felt she should trademark as it suited her very well.  
  
"Yes, please, do" she replied. He rose and walked to a coat rack and took a long dark beige trench coat.  
  
"Come along, I'll decide on the way" he said as he slid the article of clothing on his shoulders. Trinity rose and bowed her head as he opened the door for her and followed her out.  
  
They decided on Dennys ("ha! how Ironic" Trinity exclaimed). Much to the platinum haired girls dislike, he had ordered for her. She was perfectly capable of ordering for herself, she had said, eyes somehwat narrowing. He kindly reminded her that she was also perfectly capable of starving herself when she knew he was buying. And he intended for her to get every bit of nutrition she could for the day. She would need it. As he chewed on his club Sandwich he remembered thoughtfully of the time her shirt had slid up accidentally while she lay on his couch and he could have counted every rib on her body. She had been practically starving. How on earth her clothes looked like they fit when they was several sizes baggy for her he didn't know, but she was very good at hiding things.  
  
"Eat" he politely commanded, "you'll need your strength for this afternoon". Trinity nodded and dug into one of the 4 things he had ordered for her.  
  
"Your right, as always, Doc" she sighed as she swallowed. Her face turned thoughtful for a few seconds then said before slicing off a piece of steak and popping it into her mouth.  
  
"Hypnoses takes a lot of energy" . 


End file.
